Knicks and Nets Won’t Meet Again, but the Race Is On

Kenyon Martin, who was signed for the remainder of the season, after the Knicks defeat to the Denver Nuggets.Credit
David Zalubowski/Associated Press

When the Knicks and the Nets last met, the lasting image was of Joe Johnson, rising over J. R. Smith to sink the jump shot that clinched the game, tied the season series and silenced Madison Square Garden. That was Jan. 21.

The interborough rivalry has been dormant since then, because of an unfortunate N.B.A. schedule that had New York’s teams play three times in the first seven weeks, and just once in the final four months.

The teams will not meet again in this regular season. But they are on a collision course all the same.

The Knicks’ March swoon has sent their winning percentage plummeting and given the Nets new hope in their pursuit of the Atlantic Division title. As of Friday, the Knicks’ lead was down to a single game — with a tie in the wins column (38) but the Nets carrying two more losses (27). The Boston Celtics (35-29) were also looming, three and a half games back.

These are disturbing trend lines for the Knicks, who not long ago were talking openly of challenging the Miami Heat — a now-laughable notion in light of the Heat’s 21-game winning streak and their 10 ½-game lead in the Eastern Conference standings.

But the potential consequences for the slumping Knicks go much deeper. Winning the division ensures a top-four seeding in the playoffs. Losing the division could mean tumbling to the lower half of the bracket. A top-three finish ensures that the Knicks would avoid the mighty Heat until the conference finals. Finishing fourth or fifth would almost certainly mean facing Miami in the second round.

Even a third-place finish could be detrimental, as the Knicks would not have home-court advantage in a potential second-round matchup with the Indiana Pacers, who have beaten the Knicks twice, including a 34-point rout on Feb. 20.

And surely, the Knicks would just as soon not lose the Atlantic title to the upstarts from Brooklyn in Year 1 of the rivalry.

The Knicks have owned the division virtually all season, and by a comfortable margin for most of it. As recently as March 6, the Knicks were three and a half games ahead of the Nets, with a five-game lead in the loss column. But their hold has never looked shakier, after weeks of substandard play and knee injuries to Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire.

Anthony has missed four of the last six games, and parts of two others. Chandler missed his first game of the season on Thursday. Stoudemire is out until the playoffs, following knee surgery.

Photo

Iman Shumpert and J. R. Smith witnessed when their team was routed by the Nuggets, 117-94, on Wednesday.Credit
David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Anthony and Chandler might return for Sunday’s game against the Clippers in Los Angeles. But their presence is hardly a cure-all. Even at full strength, the Knicks have been mediocre for three months, with a 20-20 record since Dec. 15. The Nets are 25-17 in that span.

The Nets have surged since the calendar flipped, going 22-12 in 2013, while the Knicks have gone 17-16.

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Even if the Knicks go 0-5 on their current trip, a distinct possibility, they can take some solace in knowing that the Nets begin their own eight-game trip on Monday, with six games in the Western Conference.

The Knicks play nine of their remaining 19 games at the Garden. The Nets are home for only six of their final 17 games.

Still, the schedule tilts slightly in the Nets’ favor over the final four weeks, based on the strength of their opponents.

Six of the Nets’ final 17 games are against likely playoff teams: Atlanta, the Clippers, Denver, Chicago, Boston and Indiana. The Knicks have 11 likely playoff teams left, including games in Oklahoma City and Miami, where the home teams are a combined 60-7. The other playoff teams left on the Knicks’ schedule are the Clippers, Boston (twice), Indiana, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta (twice) and Milwaukee.

It is too early to get a handle on first-round matchups in the East, with just a four-and-a-half-game spread between the second-place Pacers (40-25) and the two teams tied for seventh place early Friday night (the Bulls and the Celtics).

But regardless of how things break, the Knicks could find a difficult path to the conference finals. They have struggled against the Pacers (1-2) and the Bulls (0-3), while the Nets (2-2) and the Celtics (1-1) have given them fits.

So playoff seeding will matter greatly, and the Atlantic Division race suddenly seems rather important. The Battle of the Boroughs is not over yet.

REBOUNDS

The Knicks signed Kenyon Martin for the remainder of the season after his second 10-day contract expired.

A version of this article appears in print on March 16, 2013, on Page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: Knicks and Nets Won’t Meet Again, but the Race Is On. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe